Southpaw Pawprint – Cosy EP
Relaxation music, or a blanket of sonic ambience to fall asleep to, isn’t new, but there’s certainly a novel approach or two applied to the sleep inducing Cosy, the debut EP from Southpaw Pawprint.
The musical mind behind the multi-media Southpaw Pawprint is multi-instrumentalist and studio sound dabbler Pete Briley, best known as a member of "heavy grass" trio The Outlaw Orchestra (Briley released his lo-fi / hi-pop solo debut, Album #1, in 2023).
What set Southpaw Pawprint and Cosy into calming motion was Pete Briley’s non-stop, fast-paced year, from running marathons and touring with The Outlaw Orchestra to a family emergency that had him heading to Australia before he could draw breath.
The end result? No way to switch off and a lack of sleep.
Cosy, then, is a four tracks and a quarter hour of cleverly woven, warm analogue tones focussed on soothing the mind and relaxing the body.
Opening track 'Light' is a sleepy and synthy little piece that sets the tone, or rather tones – Cosy cleverly uses binaural rhythms (two tones in different frequencies, one out of each speaker/ into each ear), which makes the brain create a "phantom tone," or beat, between them.
The results are an induced state of relaxation that leads, hopefully, to sleep.
'Spindles' increases the calming effect before the woozy, country and western vibed 'Slow Wave (Breakfast For Dinner)' looks to put all good Cowboys and Cowgirls to bed and, finally, through the repeating refrain of 'REM,' to sleep.
Cosy is a short, immersive experience but it’s also, as mentioned at the top of this review, a multi-media concept, one that intentionally ties its analogue recording techniques and instrumentation (vintage synths, classic electric pianos, guitars) to 16 Bit nostalgia.
As can be gleaned by the EP’s cover, there’s a nod to more innocent, pixelated times and classic scrolling video/ computer games. The latter comes to reimagined life on the Southpaw Pawprint Instagram page (link below), which features several animations in the style of 16 Bit games, each with a saying or comment that is worth taking heed of.
Sleepy, analogue warmth to combat the digital static of a frenetic world?
Sounds pretty cosy to me.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Cosy is available now on all streaming/ digital platforms via Top Floor Music.
Southpaw Pawprint Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/southpawpawprint/
The musical mind behind the multi-media Southpaw Pawprint is multi-instrumentalist and studio sound dabbler Pete Briley, best known as a member of "heavy grass" trio The Outlaw Orchestra (Briley released his lo-fi / hi-pop solo debut, Album #1, in 2023).
What set Southpaw Pawprint and Cosy into calming motion was Pete Briley’s non-stop, fast-paced year, from running marathons and touring with The Outlaw Orchestra to a family emergency that had him heading to Australia before he could draw breath.
The end result? No way to switch off and a lack of sleep.
Cosy, then, is a four tracks and a quarter hour of cleverly woven, warm analogue tones focussed on soothing the mind and relaxing the body.
Opening track 'Light' is a sleepy and synthy little piece that sets the tone, or rather tones – Cosy cleverly uses binaural rhythms (two tones in different frequencies, one out of each speaker/ into each ear), which makes the brain create a "phantom tone," or beat, between them.
The results are an induced state of relaxation that leads, hopefully, to sleep.
'Spindles' increases the calming effect before the woozy, country and western vibed 'Slow Wave (Breakfast For Dinner)' looks to put all good Cowboys and Cowgirls to bed and, finally, through the repeating refrain of 'REM,' to sleep.
Cosy is a short, immersive experience but it’s also, as mentioned at the top of this review, a multi-media concept, one that intentionally ties its analogue recording techniques and instrumentation (vintage synths, classic electric pianos, guitars) to 16 Bit nostalgia.
As can be gleaned by the EP’s cover, there’s a nod to more innocent, pixelated times and classic scrolling video/ computer games. The latter comes to reimagined life on the Southpaw Pawprint Instagram page (link below), which features several animations in the style of 16 Bit games, each with a saying or comment that is worth taking heed of.
Sleepy, analogue warmth to combat the digital static of a frenetic world?
Sounds pretty cosy to me.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Cosy is available now on all streaming/ digital platforms via Top Floor Music.
Southpaw Pawprint Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/southpawpawprint/